Bonnie Lee Bakley

June 7, 1956 – May 4, 2001

Since I lived on the other side of the world at the time, this new OJ type story didn’t reach our shores. However, Findadeath.com friend Steve Goldstein of Beneath Los Angeles was on the scene recently, and filled me in, as it were.

Bonny Lee was a fame hag. One of us. She knew she couldn’t be a star, so she went out of her way to meet them, greet them, screw them, and marry them. Ok, not completely like us.  She supposedly had sexual relationships with Chubby Checker (hooray), Christian Brando (danger much?), Frankie Vallee (Grease is the word), and Jerry Lee Lewis (ew). Her latest conquest was marrying Robert Blake. A lot of you know him as the star of the television show Baretta. I remember him better as Mickey, from the Our Gang series. He was a cute kid. He is now a 67 year old psychotic. Big time. Serious screws loose. I remember reading that his father used to beat the crap out of him, and lock him in the closet for days. Something about sitting in his own excrement. That sort of thing. Not a happy family.

Bonny met Blake in a night club a couple of years ago, and they were seeing each other. In August of 2000, she had a baby. She named it Kristian Brando (it was a girl) because she thought it was Christian’s kid. DNA tests proved that the father was Robert Blake. It always kills me that people have to get tested to find out who their child’s father is. What a slut. Anyway, they got married in November of 2000. Robert scared the shit out of Bonny. She claimed that he never physically harmed her, but he could be “really scary.” She told a lot of people that she feared for her life. So here’s what happened:

On Friday May 4th, the two of them were eating at a restaurant called Vitello’s, in Studio City. It was a regular place for Blake, and they even had a pasta dish named after him. He ate that. I’ll have a bowl of me, please. She ordered the cheese ravioli. They ate and left and got in to their car about 9:40pm – Bonnie bun bun in the passenger side. Now I don’t really get this next part. Blake returns to the restaurant looking shaken. He asks for two glasses of water, drinks them, and asks if there was a doctor in the restaurant. Blake claimed that he left a gun behind, as you do, in the restaurant. Supposedly Bonny gave the gun to Blake to hang on to, because she was afraid of a stalker. Restaurant staff didn’t see any gun. Blake returns to the car.

Bonny was wearing a black skirt and t-shirt, patent leather shoes, a gray girdle and a black Judith Michaels blouse.  She also has several bullet holes in her.

Next thing that happens, Blake rings his friend Sean Stanek’s doorbell,

across the street from where the car was parked. He says to his buddy, “My wife’s hurt and bleeding.” They call 911 and go to the car, parked next to a dumpster.

She was still alive, but bleeding badly. She was shot in the head. Stanek held her hand, while Blake was puking, walking in circles and weeping. He kept going on, “Oh my God. Oh my God.” Paramedics were called, they worked on the girl, but she was DOA at St. Joseph’s hospital.

She was 44 years old.

Police questioned Blake, and searched his house

located on this corner,

in the following hours.  The searched for the gun, but couldn’t find it. Blake collected guns. As you do. There was no gun residue on Blake’s hands.

Police found the murder weapon in a dumpster a couple of blocks away. It was a rare German Walther PPK pistol. The gun was not registered to Blake. As you do. On the television show Good Morning America, Blake’s attorney addressed the issue of the words “I am not going down for this” being scrawled on a wall in Blake’s house. The attorney said, “That’s something that’s been on his wall for more than a year and it has nothing to do with this case.” Uh huh.

Correction from Findadeath.com friend Mike:  Hey guys,

Just came across your web site.  There is misinformation about guns. The weapon was not a rare PPk as you state but a common variety post war P-1. (worth about $250.00-$300.00) It just looks old. I have attached a picture of the weapon for your readers to enjoy.

Thanks for the clarification, Mike!

Findadeath.com friend Tina writes in:  the serial number on the gun had been filed away, but forensic detectives were able to get the number anyway and the gun was traced back to Blake! His attorney is filing a motion to keep the cameras out the courtroom, so it won’t be like O.J.’s case. I hope it doesn’t go through — I wanna see all the highlights!

Take care, and have a great week!

Tina : )

3 weeks later, on May 24th, Bonny’s funeral was held at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. Blake attended and gave a tearful eulogy. Her family refused to attend. Her sister was quoted as saying, “I didn’t feel I ought to stand next to the man I believe, strongly, killed my sister.”

Police think it was a hit. Yeah, probably that other psycho, Jan Brady. She lived just down the street in this house.

No really. She did.

Jerry Lee Lewis said of the murder, “This is a terrible tragedy for everyone involved. When someone that you know dies like this, it’s very difficult to understand.” A little too close to home.

Anyone who is anyone knows that Robert Blake and his bodyguard were arrested and being charged with the murder of Bonnie baby.  This is Findadeath sleuth at its best!  My good buddy Lisa in Burbank lives just a stone’s throw from the apartment where Blake’s body guard was arrested.  Lisa got there.  Camera in hand, she sends us this report:

Here’s some of the pix I got today of Earle Caldwell’s apartment. These were taken about 10am 4/19/02 as police arrived

to begin the initial search of his place. I had to go to work, so didn’t get pix of the guns, etc. being taken out. As it was, I was told “we don’t want you taking pictures of us working” as I trolled the alley

asking questions as a concerned neighbor. The pix basically show the press covering the scene,

and the press being escorted

off the private property and the yellow tape going up. Caldwell’s apartment

is at 623 E. San Jose,

a second-level apartment in the back of a quaint, quiet, family-oriented 5-unit place. (I live 4 doors down.) Hope this is of interest/use for your page!

Here’s a few more…news crews filming cops

upstairs in apt from the outside; a detective in Caldwell’s apt doorway; cops walking towards me with yellow tape

to make me stop taking pix. Caldwell was not there, he had been arrested for conspiracy the day before and was sitting in jail on a million dollar bond.

UPDATE AUGUST 2001:

Findadeath.com friend and pal sends these fantastic new pictures.  He and some friends went on a Bonnie trip to the spot where she died.  It’s right in front of this power or telephone thingy.

If you look closely at the curb, you can see that some of Bonnie leaked out, and is still there.

Some loser taped a picture of her on the power thingy.

After that, the gruesome foursome headed over to Vitello’s, the infamous restaurant.  After snatching this card for me,

Steve, Jennifer, Todd and Roxanne settled in to THE booth

where Bonnie had her last supper.  Roxanne was about to get a mouthful of Robert Blake,

when this pic was taken.  After dinner they drove past Blake’s house, where another loser posted this sentiment

for Blake’s daughter.  How long before Robert came and snatched it down, I wonder.  Great job, guys.  Thanks.

Oh, I almost forgot, Blakes lawyer, Barry Levin, blew his brains out in a car, in a cemetery in LA.  Thanks to the many friends of findadeath who sent me that info.

Thanks to findadeath.com friend Steve Goldstein for contributing this story.

Findadeath.com friend Jim sends this in, July 2001:  “Let me tell you what I know about the Blake. First, he had a really neat web page until a few months ago, loaded with old personal photos from his career. Candid shit. Parties and back stage. Suddenly the web page was gone.

He also was a buddy of Hef’s. Blake and Mamie Van Doren’s ex-husband Ray Anthony would show up at Hef’s place every Friday night to sit around and watch old movies and play cards and shoot the shit. Blake also had a REALLY bad facelift. All the skin is drawn too fucking tight. He looks like The Screaming Skull. His eyes have a sunken, skeleton head quality. You can imagine his noggin dangling from a string on your rearview mirror. Like you’d sent away for it in the back of a comic book or something. She thought he was scary? Damn right he was scary!”  Fricken funny, mate.  Thanks.

Findadeath.com friend Ann sends us this:  I ride and show horses, and I go to an equestrian bulletin board a lot. There was a recent discussion about if anyone knows any famous people, and a woman
named Brooke posted that she lives (or should I say lived) a few doors down from Robert Blake. I e-mailed her for more details about him, because I was interested and I knew you guys would be interested too! Scott, feel free to add these comments to your
website.

Enjoy!

Ann

Regardless of if Robert Blake did murder his wife or not, he was always extremely kind to me and my horses. He was always outside working in his backyard, and whenever I would ride by he would always go out of his way to chat for a minute and pat my horses. He was very knowledgeable about horses and always asked questions about their breed and temperament etc, etc. From what I could see he was a very caring father towards both daughters (he would always take little Rosie for a walk). He has a VERY powerful presence. His eyes are very intense, and he is built like a mack truck (very stocky). I never knew that he was almost 70, he seems much younger. But again, what struck me the most is how genuinely nice he was. His backyard seems so empty now, I’m actually really sad he’s gone! I hope this gives a little insight on him. The only juicy stuff I have is that his bodyguard Earl Caldwell was always a real JERK. Just my opinion!

Thanks Ann!

And our pal Steve Goldstein of Beneath Los Angeles sends us this:  Adding to the Robert Blake info, here is a post I got from one of his Hidden Hills neighbors:
sg

Hi,
Robert Blake lived by the first stop sign on long valley. About one block
away. I always saw him playing with his young daughter in the front yard.
Other than the helicopters on the arrest day it has been quite quiet in
here.

This just in, February 2003, from Find a Death friend Harry:

Hi Scott,

Just blowing some time this morning on FAD (sadly, no Brentwood Hello), and I re-read the Robert Blake story … a couple updates …

* Steve got a pic of Bonnie’s headstone on their recent foray to FL-HH. It’s on his web site if you wanna link.

* Also, real estate-wise, Blake’s house was up for sale, and they were having a helluva time finding a buyer. Not so much the notoriety of the home, but that they had done a bunch of crappy additions (probably without permits) to the house. I don’t know if it finally sold, but they just had to keep reducing the price. (It would be fun to negotiate that deal … I wonder if you can fax a counter offer to the LA County Jail??)

Yours in real estate,  🙂
Harry

Thanks, Harry! Great stuff!

UPDATED February 2005, from Find a Death friend Craig:

It was bought by the British actress Alex Kingston and her husband, not her ex-husband who played the mean Nazi in Schindler’s List, Ralph Fiens or however you spell it, but her newer husband. I don’t know his name. Anyway, Alex plays Dr. Elizabeth Corday the surgeon on the hit show ER. Her character was married to Anthony Edwards when his character died on the show. I heard they got a deal on the house. This was a small tiny story in a tabloid awhile back.
Thanks, Amy!

Find a Death friend Bob sends us this:  I noticed the mention of Alexandra Kingston buying Robert Blake’s house. Kingston and her husband Florian Haertel bought the home in 2002 for $840,000. After a makeover, they put it on the market a year later for $1.6 Million. They never lived in the home.